


Finding Home

by rumbelle_af



Series: Bound [1]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Cross-Post, F/M, SO FLUFFY, stranded motorist
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-09
Updated: 2018-06-08
Packaged: 2019-05-19 23:35:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14883395
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rumbelle_af/pseuds/rumbelle_af
Summary: Belle is a stranded motorist whose day is only getting worse. Mr. Gold just wants to find his lost dog





	1. 1

**Author's Note:**

> previously posted in my one-shots, but I've decided to post it separately and develop it into it's own series. prompts are welcome!!

"Shit." 

Belle French was not an individual given to swearing often, but at the moment, there didn't seem to be enough curses in the world. Her weekend away was turning out to be a complete disaster, and it had barely even started. She could only glare at out her front windshield at the smoke emerging out of her engine. Looking down at the phone in her hand, she swore again. The battery was dead. 

"Fuuuck," she groaned. The contractions that she'd been having all morning seemed to had passed, until now. She blamed the stress, but that didn't take the pain away. Blindly, Belle groped underneath her seat to slide her chair all the way back, giving her legs room to stretch. "Seriously, kid, not now. Please, not now."

Remembering her breathing exercises, Belle found the pain manageable for a short time. A blur on the other side of the road caught her attention, and Belle turned to see a dog sitting there, watching her car. His white and auburn hair was clean, save for his muddy paws. Rolling down her window, Belle whistled to the dog.

"C'mere. Come on, puppy," she called. When the dog perked up it's ears, she whistled again. After a moment's hesitation, the dog trotted across the road. Rolling down the back window, Belle called to the dog again. "I hope you can jump, buddy, because I can't get out. Jump in, c'mon."

Surprisingly, the dog jumped up and into her back seat before wiggling his way up front. When she reached a hand towards him, he gave her a curious sniff before letting her pet him. Belle's wandering hand found a collar around the dog's neck.

"Wilby. Huh, interesting," Belle mused. Wilby watched her for a second before stretching his neck to sniff her again. When his nose found her stomach, he gave it a gentle nudge before resting a paw on the swollen curve. "Yeah, that's Gideon. I love him, but he's got terrible timing."

Wilby was content to sit and let Belle squeeze the scruff on his neck as her contractions came and went. 

"How the hell does no one live out here?" she wondered aloud. Checking her watch, she saw that'd she'd been stranded for a couple hours, with her contractions and pain only getting worse. Screwing her eyes shut, Belle screamed as the next contraction tore through her. When she opened her eyes again, she found her car door open, and two concerned men watching her.

***

"Sheriff, I've come to collect my favor."

David Nolan could only smirk at the man before him. Even in all his snarky glory, Mr. Gold was not half as bad as the town believed. 

"What can I do for you, Gold?"

"There are two matters I would like to bring to your attention."

"I only owe you one favor," the sheriff raised a questioning eyebrow.

"The matters are related. I found this in my yard this morning," Gold held up a severed dog leash. "Some juvenile delinquent cut this and stole my dog. So, I will be needing an investigation into that, but right now, I would appreciate it if we could go find my dog."

Gold pulled out his phone and handed it to the sheriff. 

"I have a GPS on his collar, so as long as they haven't taken it off, we should be able to find him. Unfortunately, at the moment, he seems to be in the woods. Given my condition, you understand why I cannot go after him," Gold gave a self-depreciating smirk, tapping his foot with his cane.

"My truck is out front, let's go," Nolan relented. "Why would someone take your dog, Gold?"

"Any number of reasons, Sheriff. Remember who I am - the beast of Storybrooke," Gold sneered as they climbed in Sheriff Nolan's old truck. 

"Ah, yes, the guy who brought an injured, abandoned puppy to the station and all but begged me to let him keep him. You know I don't see you how they do, Gold. But I do know how they see you. Any idea who did it?"

"Unfortunately, no." Gold remained silent for the rest of the drive, save for the occasional directions on which way to go. "Right around the next corner, he's just sitting there. Hasn't moved for a bit."

"Uh, Gold," Nolan started as he followed Gold's instructions, "he's not there. It's just a car."

Sheriff Nolan pulled up behind the car, and cut the engine. 

"Whatever fiend has my dog -" Gold started, but didn't have a chance to finish as a scream pierced the air. The two men shared a brief look of bewilderment before scrambling out of the truck. Hand on his holster, Nolan ran up to the window. Gold was right beside him, taking in the sight of a very pregnant woman, one hand buried in his dog's fur. "What the hell?"

When her contraction passed, the woman opened her eyes, surprised to see two men that weren't there before. Wilby gave a soft bark and wagged his tail at the sight of his owner, but stayed otherwise planted by the woman.

"Who are y-" She started to ask, but was cut off by another contraction. Vaguely, she heard one of the men urging the other into action. 

"Get in the other side, Gold; prop her up, sit behind her," David directed. Gold hobbled to do as he was told. "Ma'am, my name is David, I'm the sheriff around here, and I'm going to help deliver your baby, okay?"

"No, no, no, we have to... hospital," she gasped between breathes. 

"There isn't time, miss. I've done this before, just trust me," he smiled at her. Everything was a blur of pain after that as David helped her shift in her front seat until her back was against the man behind her. There was no time to feel embarrassed as the sheriff knelt between her legs and guided her. 

Wilby didn't whimper once as her hand fisted in his scruff, only nudging her with his wet nose every so often. The man behind her offered his hand for her to squeeze, and squeeze she did. When Belle thought she could take the pain no more, she was rewarded with the cries of her newborn son and the sheriff announcing that it was a boy. Half laughing and half sobbing, Belle watched as David cleaned the infant before hesitating.

"We need something to wrap him in."

"I've got it," Gold volunteered before awkwardly shimmying out of his suit jacket and passing it forward. He watched in awe as the boy settled against his mother's chest. Gold barely heard as Nolan instructed Belle in dealing with the afterbirth as he watched the baby.

"I'll go call for an ambulance to come pick you up, miss, and a tow for your car." When Gold gave no indication he'd even heard what the sheriff said, David walked back to his truck, laughing at Gold.

"What's his name?" Gold whispered.

"Gideon," she answered without looking up. Wilby gave the infant a curious sniff, his cold nose brushing an exposed toe. Before he could think, Gold reached around and gave the jacket a gentle tug, enough to cover the tiny foot. She leaned ever further back against him so that her head rested against his shoulder. 

"Is there someone you'd like me to call?"

"No, thank you, though."

Gold pondered that for a moment. No one to call. A single mother in a town she didn't know. The potential hardships for Belle were building by the minute. A sudden urge to protect her swept over him. Before he could voice his concerns, she turned slightly toward him, finally allowing him to see her deep blue eyes. 

"I'm Belle, by the way."

"Gold. Alexander Gold"

*** 

Almost an hour later, Gold finally made it home. Ashley's head popped around a corner as she heard the front door close.

"You found him! I know someone will be very excited to see Wilby again."

"Very excited, indeed, Miss Boyd," Gold smiled as he handed Ashley a few bill. "Thank you for coming by on such short notice. I don't know what we would have done without you."

"It's no problem, Mr. Gold," Ashley smiled at him and promptly left.

"C'mon, Wilby, someone is waiting for you." The pair rounded the corner to the living room where Baelfire was playing contentedly in his play pen. The infant shrieked with joy at the sight of the dog, crawling as far as he could before unsteadily hoisting himself onto his feet. Wilby licked at the chubby fingers grabbing the edge of the pen, eliciting more giggles. "Papa's home too, Bae."

Big brown eyes looked up at Gold. 

"Let me tell you about the nice lady who found Wilby," Gold sighed, lowering himself onto the couch. "She's a new mommy.She has the most beautiful blue eyes, an accent you wouldn't soon forget. Her name is Belle..."


	2. 2

Gold waited before visiting Belle. A visit the same day of the incident would have been intruding, Gold felt, and even the day after felt like he was stealing time from her that was meant for her son. So, two days later, Gold buckled Baelfire into his car seat, Wilby hopping into the seat beside Bae. No one at the front desk at the hospital batted an eye when Mr. Gold entered with a dog trotting alongside a stroller.

"I am looking for Belle French's room, please." 

"Room 112, Mr. Gold. Down the left hallway and around the corner."

Wilby gave a curious bark and a wag of his tail as they set of towards Belle's room.

"That's right, Wilby, we're gonna see Belle." Gold couldn't help but smile a bit. Even though Wilby was a dog, Gold believed he understood more than was normal. In his stroller, Bae gnawed happily at his stuffed crocodile. "Alrighty, here we are."

Gold parked the stroller just outside the door and knocked lightly. The door was open a few inches already, and from inside, Gold could hear Belle talking to Gideon. A soft "come in" drifted through the baby noises, so Gold poked his head into the room.

"Look, Gid, it's Mr. Gold!" Belle looked up from the baby cradled in her arms and smiled at Gold. Adjusted her hold on Gideon, she ran her fingers through her hair, attempting to rake out some knots. "I wasn't expecting a visitor."

"Ah, well, I apologize, I should have called first. I do, however, have a couple other visitors waiting to see you," he grinned. He swung the door open and ducked back into the hallway before pushing the stroller into the room. Wilby darted past Gold straight to the bed. Standing on his hind legs, Wilby rested his front paws on the bed and nuzzled Belle's arm, begging for attention. Belle giggled at the dog, but did reach out to scratch his ears.

"There he is, my furry hero," she cooed. Wilby whined happily and dropped down from the bed, going back by Gold. "And who is this?"

"This little guy," Gold started as he picked up Baelfire out of his seat, "is my son, Bae. And you, Belle, are his hero."

"Me? What did I do?" she asked, genuinely confused.

"You found his dog," he stated, as if it were the most obvious and self-explanatory answer in the world. " When Bae was still a newborn, I found Wilby as a puppy, abandoned behind my shop. He was but a newborn himself, maybe two weeks old. After a quick trip to the veterinarian, I brought him home with me. When Bae was learning to crawl, Wilby was on the floor next to him, showing him how it's done. As Bae was starting to stand, he'd grab fistfuls of Wilby's fur as leverage, but Wilby has never even growled at Bae. They still nap together."

"But I didn't find him" Belle argued, tears in her eyes, "he found me."

"You could have been some crazy lady who would turn his fur into a nice coat," he joked. Belle smiled despite her tears and turned back to Gideon. "How long will you be staying?"

"At least another week. Gideon has his check-up in a few days but we're gonna stay a couple more days afterwards. I've been trying to find a hotel in the area but all I could find was Granny's Inn."

"Yes, Granny makes a wonderful burger but her rooms aren't quite suitable for an infant. Stairs and such, not to mention to cribs or other accommodations. There is the convent near the edge of town. They've been known to take in a runaway teen, look after a baby left on their doorstep. I'm sure they'd let you stay there."

"The edge of town? I was hoping for something closer, in case of emergency or something."

Gold sat in the one chair that occupied the room, Baelfire on his lap. Ever the matchmaker, Wilby sat in the center of the room, looking back at Belle, then to his owner, whining like he was begging for a treat. 

"The only plausible solution is that you can stay in one of my guest rooms. A lot of necessities are already there for Bae, there's no reason Gideon couldn't use them. As for everything else, the supermarket is a five minute drive from the house."

"I suppose it couldn't hurt to have a childcare expert around..." Belle mused.

"Hardly an expert," Gold laughed, "but, yes, I do have a bit of a head start in that department."

"Alright, we'll go with you," she agreed. "Whale said he is going to release me in the morning. He's only kept me this long to make sure there weren't complications that we didn't know about. But, we should be good to go."

"Excellent, I'll come by in the morning to pick you up. I'll have my man Dove get a room ready for you both."

"Would you...would you like to hold him?" Belle nodded towards the sleeping infant in her arms.

"That means you get to hold onto this one," Gold smiled as he brought Bae over to the bed and sat him on Belle's legs. "He can sit just fine on his own, just make sure he doesn't get any idea to crawl off the bed."

Carefully, Gold lifted Gideon from his mother's arms, causing him to snuffle in his sleep. 

"I remember when Bae was this small. Who would think such a wee thing could make so much noise?" Gold's curiosity got the better of him and he found the little bracelet that told him all about Gideon. "Gideon Alexander? You named him after me?"

"Well, I couldn't very well name him 'Gideon Wilby', could I? Besides, you stayed with me, let me crush you hand, gave him your jacket as a blanket. I'm glad it was you." Belle watched as Gold held her son, fidgeting with Gideon's tiny fingers. There was no doubt he was an excellent father to his son. Turning her attention to Bae, she found him staring at her, unbridled curiosity in his brown eyes. "Will his mother mind? Us living in your house?"

"There is no one to mind," Gold offered. "I was alone my whole life; my parents left me all too eagerly. Every woman I've ever dated has either cheated or been psychotic. I hired a surrogate. It's been just Bae, Wilby, and me."

"Fair is fair. My best friend Ruby and I went partying after we graduated college. We both met a guy; I got a drunken one night stand - and Gideon from it. She ended up getting engaged to hers. That's where I was this weekend, her engagement party. She's having a destination wedding and felt bad that I couldn't come so we had a girl's weekend. Ruby left for the airport early this morning."

"Well, Belle French, you've been here long enough. Tomorrow morning, I'll pick you up."

"My car is fixed, y'know. I could just drive over if you tell me where you live."

"Nonsense. You've got enough to worry about," Gold smiled at her. Ever so carefully, he placed Gideon back in her arms before placing Bae back in his stroller. "Until tomorrow, Belle."

"See you later, Alexander," Belle waved. She waited until they had left before confiding in Gideon. "That is the man I told you about, the man I named you after. He's a good man and a great father. His name is Alexander Gold..."


End file.
